Graduate Minors and Dual Degrees

Graduate Minors

A graduate minor from the Humphrey School provides students the opportunity to hone skills and expertise in policy-related fields as a complement to their graduate studies in other degree programs or academic units across the University. 

Humphrey School graduate minors generally consist of at least 9 credits in 5xxx or 8xxx Public Affairs courses. Up to 3 credits may be taken on an S/N grade basis. All other courses must be completed with grades of B or better. Specific coursework is chosen in consultation with the student's minor advisor or director of graduate studies for the associated degree program. Students are required to take a minimum of 3 credits from those required in the degree program with which the minor is affiliated. For students pursuing doctorates, a minimum of 12 credits must be completed in the minor field or supporting program. Interested in pursuing a graduate minor? Email the office of Career and Student Success.

The Humphrey School offers four graduate minors: 

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Development Practice Minor

The Development Practice minor offers three options for students interested in an international/sustainable development practice credential. The field experience option incorporates coursework and a summer field experience; the capstone option incorporates coursework and an experiential capstone component; and the coursework option concentrates on coursework that provides students with academic preparation in international/sustainable development practice. This is a joint program with the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (icgc.umn.edu). View Development Practice course information and requirements.

Public Policy Minor

This graduate minor program requires students to study policy analysis or management, or focus on a substantive area of public policy including advanced policy analysis methods; economic and community development; global public policy; human rights; politics and governance; public and nonprofit leadership and management; public finance and budgeting; science, technology, and environmental policy; social policy; and gender and public policy. View Public Policy course information and requirements

Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy Minor

The graduate minor in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP) provides students with the skills and knowledge to study public issues arising at the intersection of science, technology, environment, and society that shape economic development, environmental sustainability, human health, and wellbeing. Students choose from the following focus areas: energy and environmental policy; water policy; climate change policy; emerging technologies and society; urban infrastructure systems; or urban agriculture and food systems policy. View Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy course information and requirements

Urban and Regional Planning Minor

Planners bring together knowledge and expertise from many diverse disciplines to shape neighborhoods, cities, and regions.  This program helps students to think across those fields of expertise and act upon links among environmental systems, infrastructure development, and housing and community development. The program teaches technical and analytical skills needed to think strategically about developing and implementing plans at the neighborhood, city, and regional levels. View Urban and Regional Planning course information and requirements

Graduate Minors Throughout the University

Many other degree programs throughout the University offer minors that can be pursued by public policy and planning students. For further information about the availability of and requirements for a minor in a specific degree program, see the degree program descriptions in the Graduate School Catalog. Some minors are not associated with a major. These minors are listed in the Minors Only section of the Graduate School Catalog.

Declare your minor

Dual Master's Degree Programs

Choosing a dual master’s degree program allows you to complete a Humphrey School degree and another University of Minnesota graduate or professional degree in less time (typically one year less) than it would take to complete the two degrees separately. You must apply for admission separately to both the Humphrey School and to the other school within the University. If applying for the MLA, MSCE, or MSW, you also submit an application to the Graduate School.

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Master of Public Policy (MPP) with Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Carlson School of Management

You may begin in either the MPP or MBA program, then enroll in the opposite program in year two, year three is made up of one semester in each program. With our MPP MBA dual master’s degree program, it is possible to finish both degrees in three years.

Degree Requirements: MPP
Forty-five (45) credits are required to complete the MPP degree. MPP students will be allowed to apply 12 credits of MBA coursework toward the MPP. Students must complete all core courses (23 credits), nine credits in an area of concentration, an internship of 400 hours or more, and a professional (non-thesis) paper.

Degree Requirements: MBA
As a dual degree student, you must meet all Carlson School of Management requirements: 64 credits (of which 29 are required courses). MBA students are allowed to apply 12 credits of MPP coursework toward the MBA. Only full-time MBA students can pursue the MPP MBA dual master’s degree.

Contact:
Full-time MBA program
Carlson School of Management
321 19th Avenue South, Suite 4-106
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-625-5555 (Admissions)
[email protected] (Admissions)

Master of Public Policy (MPP) or Master of Urban & Regional Planning (MURP) from the Humphrey School and Master of Social Work (MSW) from the College of Education and Human Development

Degree Requirements: MPP and MURP
You complete required core courses, a professional paper or Plan A thesis, and an internship. MPP students may apply up to 11 MSW credits to concentration or elective requirements (for a total of 21 double-counted credits). MURP students may apply up to 11 MSW credits to concentration or elective requirements (for a total of 21 double-counted credits). The second MSW field placement also can fulfill the MPP internship requirement.

Degree Requirements: MSW
Completing the MSW degree requires 50 credits (or 34 credits for students with advanced standing). As a MPP-MSW dual degree student, you may apply approximately 11 credits of PA courses to this total. As a MURP-MSW student, you may apply up to 11 MURP credits. In a 50-credit program, 25 credits are in MSW foundation courses. You may substitute PA 5036 (Regional Economic Analysis) and PA 5037 (Regional Demographic Analysis), 1.5 credits each, for the foundation course SW-8601 (Social Work Research Methods, 3 credits). The number of MPP-MSW double-counted credits recently increased to 21.

Social work dual degree program students usually take an MSW concentration in community practice. This requires five basic courses (13 credits), one three-credit advanced policy course, three credits of electives, and a concentration field placement.

In the 50-credit MSW program, the first field placement must be a direct service placement and the second field placement must be in a management position for MSW students in the human services management concentration. Given pertinent content and responsibilities, the second placement can double as the Humphrey School internship.

Contact:
School of Social Work Admissions Office
University of Minnesota
105 Peters Hall, 1404 Gortner Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
612-624-4704

Master of Public Policy (MPP) or Master of Science in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (MS-STEP), or Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) from the Humphrey School and Juris Doctor (JD) from the Law School

Students enrolled in the law school dual degree program may begin their studies in either program. It is best to complete a full year in one program before beginning the second program.

Degree Requirements: MPP, MS–STEP, MURP
You also must complete all required courses for your Humphrey degree, as well as an internship (MPP or MURP degrees) and a professional (non-thesis) paper (MPP; MURP: coursework only; or MS–STEP: Plan B option). If you are pursuing the MS–STEP: Plan A or MURP: Plan A options, you will write a thesis. A law clerkship that focuses on a planning- or policy-related topic, may count toward the required Humphrey School internship.

Degree Requirements: JD
As a dual degree student, you must meet all Law School requirements: 88 credits (of which 32 are required first-year courses), as well as completion of professional responsibility and writing requirements. The Law School will accept 12 credits of graduate-level coursework completed outside the Law School.

A total of 17 Law School credits may be applied to the MPP or MURP degree programs and 14.5 (Plan B) or 7.5 (Plan A) to the MS–STEP program as courses in a concentration or specialization and as electives.

The law school dual degree program is part of a larger Dual Degree Program in Law, Science & Technology, which involves the Law School, the College of Biological Sciences, and the School of Public Health. Participating students also take a required, one-credit seminar for all students in the law, health, and the life sciences program.

MPP/JD and MURP/JD contact:
School of Law Admissions Office
University of Minnesota
290 Mondale Hall, 229 19th Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-625-5005

MS–STEP/JDP contact:
Dual Degree Program in Law, Science & Technology
N-140 Mondale Hall, 229 19th Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-625-0055

Humphrey School MPP/JD, MURP/JD, MS–STEP/JDP contact:
Humphrey Career and Student Success
Humphrey School of Public Affairs
301 19th Avenue South, Room 280
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-624-3800

Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Health (MPP/MPH) and 
Master of Urban and Regional Planning and Master of Public Health (MURP/MPH) from Humphrey School and School of Public Health

Complement your Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs (HHH) degree in Public Policy or Urban and Regional Planning with a Master of Public Health. The dual degree provides you with training in planning, public policy, and in the public health sector. With approval, you may use up to 12 credits of HHH courses toward the MPH and 12 credits of Public Health courses toward the MPP or MURP programs. This allows you to save time and money while earning both degrees. A large majority of the MPH courses are offered online which allows you the freedom to complete both degrees with flexibility and in a timely fashion. For complete information about the MPP/MPH or MURP/MPH dual degree programs, please refer to the School of Public Health.

NOTE: Applicants should apply to and enroll in the MPP program first, to establish a cohort and foundational knowledge with other MPP students, and apply for MPH admission for a future Summer or Fall term. Applicants should apply to the MPH for the term they plan to start public health coursework. 

MPP & MURP contact:
Humphrey School of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota
301 19th Avenue South, Room 280
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-624-3800
[email protected]

Master of Public Health contact:
School of Public Health
University of Minnesota
Public Health Practice
420 Delaware Street SE, 
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-626-5665
[email protected]

Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) from the Humphrey School and Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE) from the Institute of Technology

For the civil engineering dual degree program, you are able to double-count up to 18 credits, thereby reducing the number of total credits to 60 (for MURP-CWO) or 66 (for MURP-Plan A). Students specialize in either Transportation Planning and Engineering or Environmental Planning and Engineering.

Degree Requirements: MURP
The MURP degree requires 48 credits, including up to 12 CE credits for civil engineering dual degree program students. (To be eligible for double-counting, the 12 CE credits must be taken from a list of pre-approved courses.) You complete all required core courses and an internship. MURP Plan-A students write a separate Plan A paper.

Degree Requirements: MSCE
The MSCE degree requires 30 credits, of which 14 must be in your major field and six outside (to be eligible for double-counting, the six outside credits must be taken from a list of pre-approved PA courses). The remaining 10 credits are thesis credits if Plan A (with thesis) or coursework credits if Plan B (non-thesis). You also can focus on environmental planning or transportation planning.

Contact:
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Minnesota
500 Pillsbury Drive SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-625-5522

Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) from the Humphrey School and Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) from the College of Design

The landscape architecture dual degree program is currently being revised. You can double-count up to 37 credits, thereby reducing the number of total credits to 100. The degree can be finished in three and a half to four years.

Degree Requirements: MURP
The MURP degree requires 48 credits. You complete required core courses, a professional paper or Plan A, and an internship. You may apply up to 18 credits in specified MLA courses toward MURP requirements.

Degree Requirements: MLA
The MLA degree requires 89 credits. You may apply up to 19 credits in specified MURP courses toward MLA requirements or electives and 18 MLA credits toward MURP requirements or electives.

Contact:
Department of Landscape Architecture
University of Minnesota
89 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-625-6860